Ensaymadas are a favorite pastry in the Philippines and almost every bakery would have ensaymadas to sell aside from the more popular pandesal. Ensaymadas are practically bread with toppings of butter and sugar. They become "special" when there is cheese included as a topping. I say special because cheese is usually regarded as expensive and the typical neighborhood bakery ensaymada will not have cheese on top but probably a generous spread of margarine and sprinkle of sugar.
How special an ensaymada is may depend on the cheese used on the pastry. The usual kind is cheddar cheese, which is what many bakeries use for their "special" variety. These include the regular pastries by commercial bakeshops like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon. The more sophisticated or specialized bakeries use other cheeses and the preferred type is queso de bola (edam). Not so recently, quick melt cheese has been used and which added somewhat to the flavor of the pastry. Some bakeries have also experimented, and successfully, with other toppings or fillings for the ensaymada. Such include macapuno, ube, salted egg and yema. Grilled ensaymada is also served in some restaurants and I personally prefer the ensaymadas of Mary Grace.
While walking towards my boarding gate at the airport recently, I spotted a stall selling quick melt ensaymada. These are popular "special" ensaymadas with really good bread and toppings. I like the macapuno while the Clairvoyant prefers salted egg. I decided to take a photo of the boxes of ensaymada as I purchased a couple, one to eat while waiting for our boarding call and another to take as baon that I would eat for later. There are two popular brands of quick melt ensaymadas - Muhlach's and the generic Quik Melt. These are available at most malls in Metro Manila where they have stalls.
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| Muhlach's quick melt ensaymadas |
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